Waveguide for near field communication

ABSTRACT

A computing device comprises a head that can be physically attached to a base. The head may be capable of functioning as a type of computing device independent of the base. The base may include a base transceiver to receive data from a first component of the base, encode the data into a signal, and transmit the signal. The base may include a base waveguide to guide the signal to a head waveguide of the head. The head may include a head transceiver to receive the signal from the head waveguide, decode the data from the signal, and send the data to a second component of the head.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/576,722, filed on Dec. 19, 2014, entitled“Waveguide for Near Field Communication” and is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety and for all purposes as if completelyand fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Near field communication (NFC) is a form of short-range wirelesscommunication where an antenna that is smaller than a wavelength of thecarrier signal may be used to transmit the carrier signal. In thenear-field (approximately one quarter of a wavelength), the antenna mayproduce an electric field, a magnetic field, etc. However, some forms ofNFC may require that the transmitter and receiver be (i) in closeproximity (e.g., 10 mm or less), (ii) within a line of sight, or both.Such usage restrictions may limit the applications in which NFC can beused.

SUMMARY

This Summary provides a simplified form of concepts that are furtherdescribed below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is notintended to identify key or essential features and should therefore notbe used for determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In some embodiments, a computing device comprises a head that can bephysically attached to a base. The head may be capable of functioning asa computing device independent of the base. The base may include a basetransceiver to receive data from a first component of the base, encodethe data into a signal, and transmit the signal. The base may include abase waveguide to guide the signal to a head waveguide of the head. Thehead may include a head transceiver to receive the signal from the headwaveguide, decode the data from the signal, and send the data to asecond component of the head.

In some embodiments, a head of a computing device may be attached to abase of the computing device. Data from a first component of the basemay be received at a base transceiver of the base. The base transceivermay encode the data into a signal. A base waveguide of the base mayreceive the signal from the base transceiver. The base waveguide mayhave a plurality of prongs. The signal may be transmitted from the basewaveguide to a head waveguide of the head. A head transceiver of thehead may receive the signal from the head waveguide. The headtransceiver may decode the data from the signal and send the data to asecond component of the head.

In some embodiments, a head of a computing device may be attached to abase of the computing device. Data from a first component of the headmay be received at a head transceiver of the head. The head transceivermay encode the data into a signal. A head waveguide of the head mayreceive the signal from the head transceiver. The signal may betransmitted from the head waveguide to a base waveguide of the base. Thebase waveguide may have a plurality of prongs. A base transceiver of thebase may receive the signal from the base waveguide. The basetransceiver may decode the data from the signal and send the data to asecond component of the base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present disclosure may be obtainedby reference to the following Detailed Description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying Drawings. In the figures, theleft-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in whichthe reference number first appears. The same reference numbers indifferent figures indicate similar or identical items.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computing device that includes a headand a base according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a head of a computing device couplingto a base according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a head waveguide and a base waveguideaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example of a forward orientation of a head and abase according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of a reverse orientation of a head and abase according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates examples of different placements of a head relativeto a base according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of waveguide shapes according to someembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example configuration of a head and base of acomputing device that can be used to implement the systems andtechniques described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive,retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest,detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information,intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or otherpurposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personalcomputer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device(e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g.,blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any othersuitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality,and price. The information handling system may include random accessmemory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/orother types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of theinformation handling system may include one or more disk drives, one ormore network ports for communicating with external devices as well asvarious input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse,touch screen and/or video display. The information handling system mayalso include one or more buses operable to transmit communicationsbetween the various hardware components.

As computing devices, such as tablets, notebooks, wireless phones, andthe like continue to proliferate, many of these devices may be designedusing two or more components. For example, a computing device, such as a“2-in-1” computing device, may include two components, such as a headand a base. The head component may include a touchscreen display deviceand may be independently usable as a computing device, such as a tabletcomputer or a wireless phone. In addition, attaching the head to thebase may enable the head to access resources that are included in thebase, such as one or more input devices (e.g., keyboard, touch pad,keypad, etc.), one or more storage devices (e.g., random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), other types of memory, disk drives, othertypes of storage devices, etc.), one or more ports (e.g., a universalserial bus (USB) port, a serial port, a digital video interface (DVI)port, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a card reader(e.g., for reading a compact flash card, a secure digital (SD) card,etc.), another type of resource, or any combination thereof. In thisway, the 2-in-1 computing device may be used as two devices, e.g.,either as a first type of computing device (e.g., such as a tablet, whenusing just the head) or as a second type of computing device (e.g., suchas a laptop, when the head is coupled to the base).

In a conventional 2-in-1 computing device, the head may be electricallycoupled to the base using electrical contacts that enable the head andbase to communicate with each other (e.g., to enable the head to accessthe resources of the base, etc.). However, having exposed electricalcontacts on the head and the base may result in the electrical contactsbecoming corroded, dirty, worn, damaged, or any combination thereof.Therefore, a 2-in-1 computing device that uses near field communication(NFC) to enable the head to communicate with the base may avoid problemscaused by the electrical contacts becoming corroded, dirty, worn,damaged, etc.

A 2-in-1 computing device may be designed such that when the head iscoupled to the base, the head may rotate relative to the base. Forexample, the head of the 2-in-1 computing device may rotate relative tothe base to enable a user to position the screen at a particular viewingangle, similar to the way the user may position a screen of a laptop.When NFC is used to enable communications between the head and the base,a first transmitter/receiver (referred to hereinafter as a“transceiver”) may be included in the head and a second transceiver maybe included in the base. The NFC may work when the first transceiver andthe second transceiver are (i) in close proximity (e.g., 10 mm or less)and (ii) within a line of sight but may not work if they are greaterthan 10 mm apart or not within a line of sight.

To enable NFC-based communications between a head and a base in a 2-in-1computing device where the head is capable of rotating relative to thebase, one or more waveguides may be used to receive a transmission froma transmitter (e.g., a first transceiver) and provide (e.g., transmit)the transmission to a receiver (e.g., a second transceiver). A waveguideis a structure that guides waves, such as electromagnetic waves, fromthe first transceiver to the second transceiver. For example, thewaveguide may vibrate in response to receiving a signal (e.g., carriersignal) from a transmitter and transmit the vibrations to a receiver.The waveguide may be made from a material such as plastic, metal, glass,wood, another type of material, or any combination thereof.

Thus, one or more transceivers and one or more waveguides may be used toenable communications between a head and a base of a 2-in-1 computingdevice to enable the head to be positioned at different angles such thatthe transceivers in the head and base do not need to be in closeproximity nor within a line of sight of each other.

In some embodiments, the waveguide may use a design that enables thehead to be attached to the base in either a forward configuration or areverse configuration. For example, the waveguide may include multipleprongs, where a first portion of the prongs are used for communicationswhen the head is attached to the base in the forward configuration and asecond portion of the prongs are used when the head is attached to thebase in the reverse configuration.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computing device that includes a headand a base according to some embodiments. FIG. 1 includes a computingdevice 102 that is comprised of a head 104 and a base 106.

The head 104 may include a display, one or more processors, andcomputer-readable storage media to store instructions. The one or moreprocessors may access the computer-readable storage media to execute theinstructions to perform various functions. For example, the head 104 maybe detached from the base 106 for use as a tablet computing device. Thehead 104 may receive input via a touch screen display using a finger (orother appendage), a stylus, a keyboard superimposed on the touch screendisplay, another type of touch input mechanism, or any combinationthereof. The head 104 may receive input via buttons, a microphone (e.g.,using voice recognition), another type of input mechanism, or anycombination thereof.

The base 106 may include resources, such as one or more input devices(e.g., a keyboard, a touch pad, etc.), one or more storage devices(e.g., random access memory (RAM), disk drives, etc.), one or moreinput/output (I/O) ports (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) port, ahigh definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a card reader (e.g.,for reading a compact flash card, a secure digital (SD) card, etc.),another type of computing resource, or any combination thereof. When thehead 104 is coupled to the base 106, the head 104 and the base 106 maybe capable of contactless communication with each other. When coupled tothe base 106, the head 104 may access one or more of the resources ofthe base 106. For example, the head 104 may receive input from the inputdevices of the base 106. The head 104 may display the input receivedfrom the base on the touchscreen display device of the head 104. Thehead 104 may store data on a storage device of the base 106. The head104 may retrieve data stored on a storage device of the base 106 (orconnected to the base 106 using an I/O port) and display at least partof the data on the touchscreen display device of the head 104. Ofcourse, other examples of a head and a base may have other I/O devicesand components.

The head 104 may be capable of being physically coupled to the base 106and later de-coupled from the base 106. The base 104 includes a headtransceiver 108 and a head waveguide 110. The base 106 includes a basewaveguide 112 and a base transceiver 114. In some embodiments, the headwaveguide 110 may be mounted off-center in such a way that the headwaveguide 110 is in close proximity to a first portion of the basewaveguide 112 in a forward orientation and, when the head 104 isreversed relative to the base 106, the head waveguide 110 is in closeproximity to a second portion of the base waveguide 112 in a reverseorientation.

The transceivers 108, 114 and waveguides 110, 112 may operate at radiofrequencies in the extremely high frequency (EHF) band, e.g., between 30Gigahertz (GHz) and 300 GHz. For example, in a particular embodiment,the transceivers 108, 114 may communicate at approximately 60 GHz. Insome embodiments, the transceivers 108, 114 may be implemented using atechnology such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). Thetransceivers 108, 114 may be capable of transmitting and receivingsignals with a bandwidth of 5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) or more. Thetransceivers 108, 114 and waveguides 110, 112 do not make contact eachother. The transmitter component of the transceivers 108, 114 is used totransmit signals and the receiver component of the transceivers 108, 114is used to receive signals.

When transmitting from the head 104 to the base 106, the headtransceiver 108 may receive data from a component of the head 104,encode the data into a signal (e.g., carrier signal), and transmit thesignal. The head waveguide 110 may conduct (e.g., guide) the signal tothe base waveguide 112. The base waveguide 112 may conduct the signal tothe base transceiver 114. The base transceiver 114 may receive thesignal, decode the data from the signal, and send the data to one ormore of the components (e.g., resources) of the base 106.

When transmitting from the base 106 to the head 104, the basetransceiver 114 may receive data from a component of the base 106 andencode the data into the a signal. The base waveguide 112 may conduct(e.g., guide) the signal to the head waveguide 110. The head waveguide110 may conduct the signal to the head transceiver 108. The headtransceiver 108 may receive the signal, extract (e.g., decode) the datafrom the signal, and send the to one or more of the components of thehead 104.

Thus, a computing device 102 may include a head 104 and a base 106 thatuses contactless communication to communicate with each other when thehead 104 is physically coupled to the base 106. The contactlesscommunication may be achieved using a first transceiver that receivesdata and transmits the data using an EHF signal as the carrier. A firstwaveguide may transmit the EHF signal to a second waveguide. The secondwaveguide may receive the EHF signal and guide the signal to a secondtransceiver that extracts the data from the signal and sends the data toa destination. The waveguides 110, 112 and transceivers 108, 114 may bepositioned to enable the head to rotate relative to the base. Forexample, a user may place the head 104 in different orientations (e.g.,a forward orientation or a reverse orientation) and at different anglesrelative to the base 106 without affecting the ability of the head 104and the base 106 to communicate with each other.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a head of a computing device couplingto a base according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 shows how the head 104may physically couple to the base 106. For example, the head 104 mayinclude a cylindrical protrusion that may be placed into a semi-circulargroove in the base 106 to couple the head 104 to the base 106.

After the head 104 is coupled to the base 106, the head 104 may beplaced at various angles relative to the base 106, while the distancebetween a tip 202 of the head waveguide 110 and the base waveguide 112is relatively constant (e.g., does not change significantly), as shownin FIG. 2. The tip 202 of the head waveguide 110 is a portion of thehead waveguide 110 that is located at an opposite end from the headtransceiver 108. Thus, the distance between the tip 202 of the headwaveguide 110 and the base waveguide 112 may remain relatively constant,thereby enabling contactless communication between the head 104 and thebase 106 regardless of the angle between the head 104 and the base 106.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a head waveguide and a base waveguideaccording to some embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates how the distancebetween the head waveguide 110 and the base waveguide 112 remainsrelatively constant regardless of the angle between the head 104 and thebase 106, thereby enabling contactless communication between the head104 and the base 106.

The head waveguide 110 includes at least one prong 302. Purely forillustration purposes, the head waveguide 110 is illustrated in FIG. 2as including seven prongs. Of course, depending on the embodiment, thehead waveguide 110 may have more than seven prongs or few than sevenprongs. The base waveguide 112 includes at least one prong 304. Forexample, in embodiments where the head 104 may be coupled to the base106 in both a forward orientation and a reverse orientation, the basewaveguide 112 may include at least one prong in a center location.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when transmitting from the head 104 to thebase 106, the head transceiver 108 may receive data 306 from a componentof the head 104 and encode the data 306 into a signal 308. The headwaveguide 110 may conduct (e.g., guide) the signal 308 to the basewaveguide 112. The base waveguide 112 may conduct the signal 308 to thebase transceiver 114. The base transceiver 114 may receive the signal308, extract the data 306 from the signal 308, and send the data 306 toone or more of the components (e.g., resources) of the base 106.

When transmitting from the base 106 to the head 104, the basetransceiver 114 may receive data 306 from a component of the base 106and encode the data 306 into a signal 308. The base waveguide 112 mayconduct (e.g., guide) the signal 308 to the head waveguide 110. The headwaveguide 110 may conduct the signal 308 to the head transceiver 108.The head transceiver 108 may receive the signal 308, extract the data306 from the signal 308, and send the data 306 to one or more of thecomponents (e.g., the touchscreen display) of the head 104.

Thus, the waveguides 110, 112 may include one or more prongs 302, 304that are used to guide a signal from one waveguide to another waveguide.The transceivers 108, 114 may encode the data 302 into the signal 304for transmission via the waveguides 110, 112 and decode the data 302from the signal 304.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example of a forward orientation of a head and abase according to some embodiments. In the forward orientation 502, thehead 104 may be attached to the base 106 in such a way that atouchscreen display of the head 104 may face forward, e.g., towards auser. In the forward orientation 502, the prongs of the head waveguide110 may be positioned in close proximity to (e.g., over) a first portionof the prongs of the base waveguide 112. For example, the prongs of thehead waveguide 110 may be positioned in close proximity to the middleprong and the prongs to the right of the middle prong of the basewaveguide 112.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of a reverse orientation of a head and abase according to some embodiments. In the reverse orientation 504, thehead 104 may be attached to the base 106 in such a way that atouchscreen display of the head 104 may face back, e.g., away from auser. For example, a user may use the reverse orientation 504 to displaysomething to another person or the user may position the head over thebase to enable the computing device 102 to be used as a tablet computer.In the reverse orientation 504, the prongs of the head waveguide 110 maybe positioned in close proximity to (e.g., over) a portion of the prongsof the base waveguide 112. For example, the prongs of the head waveguide110 may be positioned in close proximity to the middle prong and theprongs to the left of the middle prong of the base waveguide 112.

While the base waveguide 112 is illustrated as including U-shapedprongs, in some embodiments, different shaped prongs may be used toenable multiple orientations. In embodiments that enable the head 104 toattach to the base 106 in more than one orientation, the prongs of thebase waveguide 112 may be arranged symmetrically to enable the forwardorientation 502 and the reverse orientation 504.

FIG. 5 illustrates examples of different placements of a head relativeto a base according to some embodiments. The head 104 may be attached tothe base 106 in a forward orientation 502 or in a reverse orientation504. For example, the head 104 may be attached to the base 106 byplacing a cylindrically shaped end 506 of the head 104 in a groove 508(e.g., semi-circular shaped groove) of the base 106. In the forwardorientation 502, the head 104 may be attached to the base 106 such thatthe touchscreen display is facing a user of the computing device 102. Inthe reverse orientation 504, the head 104 may be attached to the base106 such that the touchscreen display is facing away from the user ofthe computing device 102.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, in both the forward orientation 502 and thereverse orientation 504, the head 104 may be placed at different anglesrelative to the base 106. The waveguides 110, 112 may provide acontactless connection between the head 104 and the base 106 to enablethe head 104 to communicate with the base 106 regardless of the positionof the head 104 relative to the base 106.

FIG. 7 illustrates examples of waveguide shapes according to someembodiments. For example, 702 illustrates an implementation of the basewaveguide 112 that includes U-shaped prongs. 704 illustrates animplementation of the base waveguide 112 that includesrectangular-shaped prongs. 706 illustrates an implementation of the basewaveguide 112 that includes prongs that incorporate a geometric shape(e.g., three sides of a square). Of course, in keeping with thetechniques and systems described herein, any type of shape may be usedfor the base waveguide 112 such that the shape enables two or morecomponents (e.g., the head 104 and base 106) of a computing device to beplaced at different positions relative to each other while enabling nearfield communication between the two or more components. As illustratedin 702, 704, 706, some implementations of the base waveguide 112 mayinclude a center prong, such that there are an odd number of prongs.However, other implementations of the base waveguide 112 may include aneven number of prongs, e.g., by using two center prongs or by excludingthe center prong.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example configuration of a head and base of acomputing device that can be used to implement the systems andtechniques described herein. The head 104 may include one or moreprocessors 802, one or more input/output (I/O) devices 804, a memory806, one or more communication interfaces 808, the head transceiver 108,and the head waveguide 110. In some embodiments, the head 104 mayinclude one or more storage devices 812. The touchscreen display device810 may be capable of receiving input via an appendage (e.g., a finger),an instrument (e.g., a stylus), or other type of input mechanism that iscapable of generating touch. The base 106 may include one or moreprocessors 814, the base transceiver 114, the base waveguide 112, amemory 816, one or more storage devices 818, one or more I/O devices822, and one or more communication interfaces 824.

The I/O devices 804, 822 may each include, but are not limited to, oneor more of a keyboard, a keypad, a touch pad, a mouse, a trackball, aspeaker, a microphone, a camera, another type of input device, or anycombination thereof. The communication interfaces may include interfacescompatible with wired protocols, such as Ethernet, high definition mediainterface (HDMI), digital video interface (DVI), Data Over Cable ServiceInterface Specification (DOCSIS), digital subscriber line (DSL), or thelike. The communication interfaces compatible with wireless protocols,such as code division multiple access (CDMA), global system mobile(GSM), WiFi (e.g., 8012.11), BlueTooth, or the like. The storage devices812, 818 may include mass storage devices, such as disk drives, solidstate drives (SSDs), etc.

Processors 802, 814 may be a microprocessor, controller, a programmablelogic device such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other hardwareresource operable to provide computing device functionality for the head104 and the base 106, respectively.

Memory 806, 816 may be any form of volatile or non-volatile memoryincluding, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM)including dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM), read-only memory(ROM), erasable/programmable memory, solid state memory such as flashmemory, removable media, or any other suitable local or remote memorycomponent or components. In particular embodiments, memory 806, 816 mayinclude random access memory (RAM). This RAM may be volatile memory.Memory 806, 816 may include one or more memories. Memory 806, 816 maystore any suitable data or information utilized by the computing device102, including one or more software modules embedded in acomputer-readable medium, and/or encoded logic incorporated in hardware.In particular embodiments, memory 806 may include main memory forstoring instructions for processors 802 to execute and memory 816 mayinclude main memory for storing instructions for processors 814 toexecute. In particular embodiments, one or more memory management units(MMUs) may reside between the processors 802 and memory 806 andfacilitate accesses to memory 806 requested by processors 802 and one ormore memory management units (MMUs) may reside between the processors814 and memory 816 and facilitate accesses to memory 816 requested byprocessors 814. As used herein, memory 806, 816 do not include purelytransitory media, such as signals and communication media. As such,memory is a form of non-transitory computer-readable media. As usedherein, non-transitory computer-readable media includes one or more ofoptical storage, magnetic storage, RAM, ROM, solid-state memory such asflash memory, a hard disk drive, a floppy drive, tape storage, a smartcard, an integrated circuit, and so forth.

Software modules include one or more of applications, bytecode, computerprograms, executable files, computer-executable instructions, programmodules, code expressed as source code in a high-level programminglanguage such as C, C++, Perl, or other, a low-level programming codesuch as machine code, etc. An example software module is a basicinput/output system (BIOS) file. A software module may include anapplication programming interface (API), a dynamic-link library (DLL)file, an executable (e.g., .exe) file, firmware, and so forth.

Processes described herein may be illustrated as a collection of blocksin a logical flow graph, which represent a sequence of operations thatcan be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Inthe context of software, the blocks represent computer-executableinstructions that are executable by one or more processors to performthe recited operations. The order in which the operations are describedor depicted in the flow graph is not intended to be construed as alimitation. Also, one or more of the described blocks may be omittedwithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Although various embodiments of the method and apparatus of the presentinvention have been illustrated herein in the Drawings and described inthe Detailed Description, it will be understood that the invention isnot limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerousrearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing device comprising: a head comprising:a head waveguide to receive a signal from a base waveguide in a base ofthe computing device, wherein the head waveguide comprises at least oneprong; and a head transceiver to: receive the signal from the headwaveguide; extract data from the signal; and send the data to acomponent of the head; wherein: attaching the head to the base in aforward orientation positions the head waveguide over a first portion ofa plurality of prongs of the base waveguide; and attaching the head tothe base in a reverse orientation positions the head waveguide over asecond portion of the plurality of prongs of the base waveguide, thesecond portion having at least one prong that is excluded from the firstportion.
 2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the base comprises:a base transceiver to: receive the data from a first component of thebase; encode the data into the signal; and transmit the signal; whereinthe base waveguide guides the signal to the head waveguide.
 3. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of prongs include atleast one substantially U-shaped prong.
 4. The computing device of claim1, wherein the base transceiver transmits the signal at a frequencybetween about 50 GHz and about 70 Ghz.
 5. The computing device of claim1, wherein the head is operable as a tablet computing device after thehead is detached from the base.
 6. The computing device of claim 1,wherein the head waveguide or the base waveguide comprises at least oneof plastic, metal, or glass.
 7. The computing device of claim 1, whereinthe base includes at least one of an input device, a storage device, oran input/output port.
 8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein whenthe head is attached to the base in either the forward orientation orthe reverse orientation, the head waveguide is no more than tenmillimeters from the base waveguide.
 9. The computing device of claim 1,wherein one end of the head includes a cylindrical protrusion that fitsinto a semi-circular groove in the base of the computing device.
 10. Ahead of a computing device, the head comprising: a head waveguide toreceive a signal from a base waveguide in a base of the computingdevice, wherein the head waveguide comprises at least one prong; and ahead transceiver to: receive the signal from the head waveguide; extractdata from the signal; and send the data to a component of the head;wherein: attaching the head to the base in a forward orientationpositions the head waveguide over a first portion of a plurality ofprongs of the base waveguide; and attaching the head to the base in areverse orientation positions the head waveguide over a second portionof the plurality of prongs of the base waveguide, the second portionhaving at least one prong that is excluded from the first portion. 11.The head of claim 10, wherein one end of the base includes asemi-circular groove into which the cylindrical protrusion of the headis placed.
 12. The head of claim 10, wherein the plurality of prongsinclude at least one substantially U-shaped prong.
 13. The head of claim10, wherein data is transferred between the head transceiver and thebase transceiver at a rate of five gigabits per second or less.
 14. Thehead of claim 10, wherein the base includes at least one of an inputdevice, a storage device, or an input/output port.
 15. A methodcomprising: attaching a head of a computing device to a base of thecomputing device in a forward orientation that positions a headwaveguide over a first portion of a plurality of prongs of a basewaveguide; receiving, at a head transceiver of the head, data from afirst component of the head; encoding, by the head transceiver, the datainto a signal; receiving, by the head waveguide of the head, the signalfrom the head transceiver; transmitting the signal from the headwaveguide to the base waveguide of the base; detaching the head from thebase of the computing device; and attaching the head to the base in areverse orientation that positions the head waveguide over a secondportion of the plurality of prongs, the second portion having at leastone prong that is excluded from the first portion.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the base transceiver transmits the signal at afrequency between about 30 GHz and about 300 GHz.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: receiving, by a base transceiver of thebase, the signal from the base waveguide; decoding, by the basetransceiver, the data from the signal; and sending the data to a secondcomponent of the base.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the pluralityof prongs include one or more U-shaped prongs.
 19. The method of claim15, further comprising: positioning the head at an angle between 0 and180 degrees relative to the base in either the forward orientation orthe reverse orientation.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein attachingthe head to the base in the forward orientation or the reverseorientation comprises: placing a cylindrical protrusion of the head intoa semi-circular groove of the base.